Brave hearts of Scotland

The workers were surprised to learn of their location

By Brady Haran BBC News Online

On day four of our series looking at the precise centres of Great Britain and the home nations, we reveal the men working at the heart of Scotland.

Most people would expect the heart of Scotland to be picturesque and peaceful.

But, as fate would have it, the country's geographic centre is blighted by a road, a railway line and power cables.

When BBC News Online finally pinpointed the exact location, we found a team of construction workers just 250 metres away.

"This is one of the most remote jobs I have had, but I had no idea we were in the middle of Scotland," said section engineer David Gibson.

A small brook runs past the site

"It's surprising the place is unmarked."

Mr Gibson and his team, from Carillion Rail, are spending 12 weeks at the site replacing a small bridge on the Perth to Inverness rail line.

On the hillside beside them is the centre of Scotland - grid reference NN 66784.93 71599.4 on an Ordnance Survey map.

The location is between Blair Atholl and Dalwhinnie.

Pictures from the centre of Scotland

Despite the site being marred by the noise and view of traffic on the A9, the surrounding region is quite beautiful.

Just three kilometres to the west is the beautiful Loch Garry and Dalnaspidal hunting estate.

From a personal point of view, I can't think of a single reason (to build a monument)

Trevor Mouncey
Ordnance Survey

The estate is owned by the Adams family, from England, which visits regularly to hunt.

The property is also used for sheep faming and is run on a day-to-day basis by the Kennedy family.

The co-ordinates marking the centre of Scotland were calculated by the Ordnance Survey using a "centre of gravity" method.

To put it simply, it marks the point at which a cardboard cut-out of Scotland could be perfectly balanced on the tip of a pencil.

While the gravitational method is not the only way to calculate the centre of an irregular-shaped object, it is preferred by most mapping agencies.

The islands of Scotland were factored into the calculation.

Erosion and accretion

Ordnance Survey spokesman Trevor Mouncey said there would be little point installing a monument at the exact centre.

"From a personal point of view, I can't think of a single reason.

"It would only ever be absolute using a given method at a given time.

"As soon as that time of measurement passed, it would be somewhere else."

This is because of factors such as the tide, erosion and accretion, which gradually change the shape of Scotland's coastline.

Over this week, BBC News Online is revealing what lies at the centre of each of the home nations.

The reports include:

• Monday: The heart of Great Britain is surrounded by peat bog.
  Click here for story

• Tuesday: Two claims for the centre of England.
  Click here for story

• Wednesday: Meg the collie roams the middle of Northern Ireland.
  Click here for story

• Friday: The windfarm threatening the scenery at the centre of Wales.
  Click here for story